Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States. It is difficult to detect, early to metastasize and resistant to treatment. Nearly every person diagnosed with pancreatic cancer will die from it, usually within 12 months of diagnosis. Familial clustering of pancreatic cancers is commonly recognized, occurring in at least 10% of all pancreatic cancer. The risk of pancreatic cancer increases further with each family member who is affected.
Current methods for diagnosing pancreatic cancer include computed tomography scanning, magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography scanning, endoscopic ultrasonography, laparoscopy, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography, and biopsy.
Early detection and diagnosis are important for the successful treatment of cancer in general. Despite advances in detection of various cancers, there is an ongoing need for diagnostic methods and tools for detection of cancers. In particular, there is a need in the art for methods of detecting pancreatic cancer.